Guide to Nutrient Deficiency or Toxicity

Castel

Member
So I'm on my first grow in almost 20 years and am having some issues with my two mothers. I would like some advice on what needs to be done to improve the health of my plants? They are two 30 day old Great White Sharks grown from feminized seeds.

Growing indoors with temps between 25 and 28 degrees C. Humidity 50%. Oscillating fan moving air.

Medium is Coco/Perlite in a pot slightly less than 1 gallon. Good drainage.

Once every 24 hours I'm feeding Maxibloom (Lucas formula) at about 50% strength using tap water which is at 170 ppm (total 700ppm / 1.4ec) with 15-20% run off. I tried using full strength nutes about 10 days ago and noticed nute burn the following day so flushed immediately with 50% strength nutes and have been staying at that. Feeding at ph 5.5. Run off is ph 6.1.

Lights are 4x CXB3590 3500K on a 1400ma driver about 18" above the plants. I was running the driver at about 90%, but felt the leaf discoloration could be caused by light toxicity so have dimmed lights to about 60%.

The edges of the leaves are fading to a very light green and am worried it will just continue to get worse.

In one of the photos you can see some of the lower leaves have turned yellow/brown and covered in brown spots. I'm attributing some of that to the day I burned them with nutes.

I'm thinking the cause is either there was too much light, or else possibly a Calmag issue. Apparently since I'm using tap water at 170ppm, calmag should not be required though.

Any suggestions?
 

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Mrjacob274

Active Member
Possibly to much water.

So I'm on my first grow in almost 20 years and am having some issues with my two mothers. I would like some advice on what needs to be done to improve the health of my plants? They are two 30 day old Great White Sharks grown from feminized seeds.

Growing indoors with temps between 25 and 28 degrees C. Humidity 50%. Oscillating fan moving air.

Medium is Coco/Perlite in a pot slightly less than 1 gallon. Good drainage.

Once every 24 hours I'm feeding Maxibloom (Lucas formula) at about 50% strength using tap water which is at 170 ppm (total 700ppm / 1.4ec) with 15-20% run off. I tried using full strength nutes about 10 days ago and noticed nute burn the following day so flushed immediately with 50% strength nutes and have been staying at that. Feeding at ph 5.5. Run off is ph 6.1.

Lights are 4x CXB3590 3500K on a 1400ma driver about 18" above the plants. I was running the driver at about 90%, but felt the leaf discoloration could be caused by light toxicity so have dimmed lights to about 60%.

The edges of the leaves are fading to a very light green and am worried it will just continue to get worse.

In one of the photos you can see some of the lower leaves have turned yellow/brown and covered in brown spots. I'm attributing some of that to the day I burned them with nutes.

I'm thinking the cause is either there was too much light, or else possibly a Calmag issue. Apparently since I'm using tap water at 170ppm, calmag should not be required though.

Any suggestions?
 

Castel

Member
Possibly to much water.
Thanks. The coco/perlite has excellent drainage so I thought it's not really possible to over water.

I'm starting to think it's a magnesium deficiency so I've ordered some epsom salt and will try adding 1 gram per gallon to my nutrient solution.
 

Nick Nugget

Member
Hey there y'all! I'm doing my first indoor grow under a 400 watt HPS/MH switchable HID in miracle grow (trust me I know what a mistake this was after I did it) in a semi-large closet. I'm having some yellowing on the lower leaves of my diesel auto fem and I'm not sure what it is as it could be a host of issues. Firstly, I started off using miracle grow potting mix which leaches nutrients and leaves me with little ability to control nutrient levels. I thought at first that it might be nitro toxicity as some of the leaves had a claw like appearance. Now it seems more like nitro deficiency as the lower leaves are starting to yellow, which matches what I've been reading. I have a hygrometer/ thermometer in the mail as well as a digital PH tester. This way I'll be able to better determine if it has anything to do with the environment or nutrient lock due to PH issues. So it could be a couple things in my novice opinion. 1. I used too small of a pot and the plant is rootbound. 2. It has a nitrogen deficiency. 3. The PH of my water is off and is locking out nutrients. I have another plant of the same strain that has been getting the exact same treatment and conditions except it's in a slightly bigger pot. Incidentally it looks totally fine. Can anyone try to eyeball this thing for me and give me their two cents?
 

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Bills dead

Member
So I'm on my first grow in almost 20 years and am having some issues with my two mothers. I would like some advice on what needs to be done to improve the health of my plants? They are two 30 day old Great White Sharks grown from feminized seeds.

Growing indoors with temps between 25 and 28 degrees C. Humidity 50%. Oscillating fan moving air.

Medium is Coco/Perlite in a pot slightly less than 1 gallon. Good drainage.

Once every 24 hours I'm feeding Maxibloom (Lucas formula) at about 50% strength using tap water which is at 170 ppm (total 700ppm / 1.4ec) with 15-20% run off. I tried using full strength nutes about 10 days ago and noticed nute burn the following day so flushed immediately with 50% strength nutes and have been staying at that. Feeding at ph 5.5. Run off is ph 6.1.

Lights are 4x CXB3590 3500K on a 1400ma driver about 18" above the plants. I was running the driver at about 90%, but felt the leaf discoloration could be caused by light toxicity so have dimmed lights to about 60%.

The edges of the leaves are fading to a very light green and am worried it will just continue to get worse.

In one of the photos you can see some of the lower leaves have turned yellow/brown and covered in brown spots. I'm attributing some of that to the day I burned them with nutes.

I'm thinking the cause is either there was too much light, or else possibly a Calmag issue. Apparently since I'm using tap water at 170ppm, calmag should not be required though.

Any suggestions?
Coco handles calcium and magnesium differently than other mediums. From what I've read it is still needed. Your 1 gallon pots may be ready for twice a day feedings
 

Bills dead

Member
Hey there y'all! I'm doing my first indoor grow under a 400 watt HPS/MH switchable HID in miracle grow (trust me I know what a mistake this was after I did it) in a semi-large closet. I'm having some yellowing on the lower leaves of my diesel auto fem and I'm not sure what it is as it could be a host of issues. Firstly, I started off using miracle grow potting mix which leaches nutrients and leaves me with little ability to control nutrient levels. I thought at first that it might be nitro toxicity as some of the leaves had a claw like appearance. Now it seems more like nitro deficiency as the lower leaves are starting to yellow, which matches what I've been reading. I have a hygrometer/ thermometer in the mail as well as a digital PH tester. This way I'll be able to better determine if it has anything to do with the environment or nutrient lock due to PH issues. So it could be a couple things in my novice opinion. 1. I used too small of a pot and the plant is rootbound. 2. It has a nitrogen deficiency. 3. The PH of my water is off and is locking out nutrients. I have another plant of the same strain that has been getting the exact same treatment and conditions except it's in a slightly bigger pot. Incidentally it looks totally fine. Can anyone try to eyeball this thing for me and give me their two cents?
Again this looks like magnesium def. Yellow leaves green veins. Starts on the outside of the leaf and works in. Also starts at the bottom of the plant and goes up. Could very well be related to your unknown PH
 

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
Hey there y'all! I'm doing my first indoor grow under a 400 watt HPS/MH switchable HID in miracle grow (trust me I know what a mistake this was after I did it) in a semi-large closet. I'm having some yellowing on the lower leaves of my diesel auto fem and I'm not sure what it is as it could be a host of issues. Firstly, I started off using miracle grow potting mix which leaches nutrients and leaves me with little ability to control nutrient levels. I thought at first that it might be nitro toxicity as some of the leaves had a claw like appearance. Now it seems more like nitro deficiency as the lower leaves are starting to yellow, which matches what I've been reading. I have a hygrometer/ thermometer in the mail as well as a digital PH tester. This way I'll be able to better determine if it has anything to do with the environment or nutrient lock due to PH issues. So it could be a couple things in my novice opinion. 1. I used too small of a pot and the plant is rootbound. 2. It has a nitrogen deficiency. 3. The PH of my water is off and is locking out nutrients. I have another plant of the same strain that has been getting the exact same treatment and conditions except it's in a slightly bigger pot. Incidentally it looks totally fine. Can anyone try to eyeball this thing for me and give me their two cents?
I'm thinking a little over watering, which may be causing N uptake problems. I thought that was the claw at first, but I think the leaf curl is too much water. That may or may not be the reason for the N problems, but I'd let it dry out a little and see if that helps. There may be pH issues as well, but to start with, dry it out a little
 

Nick Nugget

Member
Bill thanks for your response. I was finally got my pH meter in the mail and the water is super basic, somewhere around 8.5-9! I adjusted the pH of the water I gave them this morning and the plants already seems to be more upright and responsive. I have the Go Box from general organics in the mail as well so that should help any glaring deficiencies as the plant continues to flower. One thing I learned is to make sure I have everything I need before I germinate that way I don't have to sit here waiting for crucial components to arrive in the mail. I'll see if I can't add magnesium the next time I water her. I'll let you know how it turns out in about a week or less.
 

xoner420

Member
And from very es experience what week do u think she is n because the growth is horribly slow for real like she has been in flower for 2 months at least and still very small buds not as frosty as I had hoped either but she seems to be fattening up a little but very slowly my temp and rh are within parameters and only water when needed but am kinda flushing now because of what looked like nitrogen toxicity so...help and constructive criticism is much appreciated r
 

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Bowtieguy77

Active Member
Hey there y'all! I'm doing my first indoor grow under a 400 watt HPS/MH switchable HID in miracle grow (trust me I know what a mistake this was after I did it) in a semi-large closet. I'm having some yellowing on the lower leaves of my diesel auto fem and I'm not sure what it is as it could be a host of issues. Firstly, I started off using miracle grow potting mix which leaches nutrients and leaves me with little ability to control nutrient levels. I thought at first that it might be nitro toxicity as some of the leaves had a claw like appearance. Now it seems more like nitro deficiency as the lower leaves are starting to yellow, which matches what I've been reading. I have a hygrometer/ thermometer in the mail as well as a digital PH tester. This way I'll be able to better determine if it has anything to do with the environment or nutrient lock due to PH issues. So it could be a couple things in my novice opinion. 1. I used too small of a pot and the plant is rootbound. 2. It has a nitrogen deficiency. 3. The PH of my water is off and is locking out nutrients. I have another plant of the same strain that has been getting the exact same treatment and conditions except it's in a slightly bigger pot. Incidentally it looks totally fine. Can anyone try to eyeball this thing for me and give me their two cents?
Nick what's wrong with Miracle Grow?
 

Nick Nugget

Member
Nick what's wrong with Miracle Grow?
So I am only semi-experienced in terms of growing but I've done a lot of research and most of what I've read say's that most MG soil is hot. Essentially hot soil just means that the too many nutrients are present for the cannabis to absorb in it's life time (usually 4-6 months, depending of course if you're growing a photo-period plant or an auto-flower), that the nutrients present are not in the correct proportions (too much nitrogen during the flowering stage due to time release soil), that it is not a "nutrient-complete" medium (marijuana needs more than just Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium to flourish, things like calcium, magnesium, zinc, molybdenum etc.) and most simply because it's just cheap garbage soil for an indoor grow, maybe if you made super soil with a little MG it might be fine but I just stick with organic soil (Dr. Earth, Foxfarm). You might even consider using a soil-less medium like coco coir or rockwool/pearlite or something. Just my amateur opinion. Plus I had some nitrogen issues in my last grow that are going to more than likely effect my yields. The pictures below are two auto-fem sour diesels grown in MG, didn't wan't to transplant them (they're autos so it's not a great idea, you'll stunt the growth) but they could have yielded more. They have about another 3-4 weeks on em before harvest. I started them Nov. 2nd. Also more important than almost anything that I messed up on was pH. Buy strips or a digital meter because nothing will fuck your plant up more than bad pH.
 

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Nick Nugget

Member
Also anyone else in the thread who is experienced, if you see any visual signs in the plant of nutrient problems, things I can change or just general comments, let me know! Please and Thank you!
 

Nick Nugget

Member
It's not so bad
Very nice girl you got there. I'm not saying you can't do it, I mean it'll definitely grow a plant. I'm just trying to give the plant the best possible environment and I've heard a lot of negative things about miracle grow. Is there any particular reason that you like MG other than the cost?
 
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